Legal & Legislative

Massachusetts House Considers Car Rental Assessment Fee

April 25, 2018
• by Staff

The Massachusetts state house. Photo via Cburnett/Wikimedia.

A piece of legislation currently under consideration in Massachusetts’ House of Representatives would tack a $2 assessment fee to all vehicle rentals to directly fund police training, according to Boston 25 News.

The Chief’s Association estimates the proposal, which was the brain child of Chelsea Police Chief Brian Kyes, would generate about $7-8 million in funding; about $10 million is needed every year to provide proper training.

Kyes came up with the idea after seeing charges on his car rental bill while in California. While the proposal did not pass the State House last year, it is gaining traction this year following the murder of a police officer who was carrying out a warrant earlier this month.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is reminding vehicle owners and drivers, as well as fleet managers, to check for open recalls on their vehicles. Recalls that remain unaddressed are a safety risk, according to the agency.

Sen. Inhofe introduced an amendment to the AV START Act to establish a committee that would bring all relevant stakeholders together to discuss the control of and access to data produced by autonomous vehicles and propose policy recommendations to Congress.

The inspection came as a result of two accounts of alleged rape and murder on the ride-hailing app Didi Chuxing, which sparked national outrage and a public apology from the company’s senior management.